A Tale of Four
by PETITE G
Summary: Take a voyage throughout Harry’s summer and his Fifth year as he uncovers a secret of the past, discovers love in an old comrade, recovers from a shock that a newly friendly and skinny Dudley pulls on him, and finds a kindred spirit in non other than hi


A Tale of Four  
  
Written by: Petite G  
  
First of all, as a disclaimer, all rights to Harry Potter and company belong to J. K. Rowling, various publishers and multimedia companies, respectfully.  
  
This is my first Harry Potter Fanfic... ;)  
  
Summary: It's the summer before Harry's fifth year back at Hogwarts. Harry thought that the wizarding world was strange....now he realizes that the muggle world can prove stranger....especially within his own house. Take a voyage throughout Harry's summer and his Fifth year as he uncovers a secret of the past, discovers love in an old comrade, recovers from a shock that a newly friendly and skinny Dudley pulls on him, and finds a kindred spirit in non other than his own aunt. Prepare yourself for a year like no other...an unusual fifth year and summer.....could you recover?  
  
Drip drop Drip drop pat pat pat drop ding drip pat pat CLASH!!!!!!!!!  
  
.....which awoke Harry from his daydreaming. It was a day like every other this summer. Rainy...stormy...dreary....which basically described his life. Well, maybe not RAINY, but certainly stormy and dreary. Harry lived a kind of sucky life at the moment. Not only that... He lived a strange life. Ever since this summer started, things have been happening to Harry...odd things.. and he can't seem to find a place to put them...  
  
It all started when he came home from Hogwarts. First he was picked up by his Uncle Vernon who looked him over and just grunted at him. Nothing odd....his uncle never paid much attention to him except for when he was YELLING.... However, when Harry got into the backseat of his Uncle's car, he found himself gazing into the eyes of a thin, sickly looking kid...no wait, not just any old kid, but his C-O-U-S-I-N...DUDLEY...  
  
Dudley Dursley, fattest elephant to walk the earth, now thinner than himself after a summer with the Dursleys.. How..weird..strange...odd..gross! Not only was Dudley a strange sight to see, but he didn't even whine or scream the whole minute that seemed like five in which Harry was staring at him..but Dudley wasn't entirely expressionless...he didn't go as far as smiling, but he did show something...remorse, maybe? Hope? Sadness? Harry couldn't grasp it.  
  
The ride "home" to Privet Drive was nothing short of boring....which is to say a lot for the ride wasn't filled with attacks on Harry of any kind... Harry thought it best NOT to press his luck any and therefore didn't say a word to Dudley....didn't open his mouth ONCE and DIDN'T move a muscle...he just stared outside at the scenery going by.  
  
Upon arrival at number 4, Privet Drive, Harry nearly fainted..possibly died from the shock upon seeing Dudley pick Hedgwig's cage up AND pull Harry's trunk out of the car.  
  
Shock was the least of his emotions upon entrance of the house. The first thing he noticed was a change in décor. No longer was Dudley the ONLY star in the matinee of photos covering the house. Harry discovered several pictures of himself hung throughout..where they found the pictures, Harry couldn't say...  
  
Pinching himself, Harry closed his eyes..opened them..closed..opened..close..open....close..open...pinch..close...open...pin ch... NOPE....STILL.....THERE...  
  
Harry almost had to find some way medically possible to close and open the holes in his ears when he heard his aunt CIVILY address him... Hello, Harry...... Nothing too chipper, just civil...almost nice...pleasant?  
  
To prevent ANY drastic change in demeanor or sudden retreat back to previous summers, he quickly found his voice.. Hello, Aunt Petunia Feeling suddenly too tired to take everything in, he spoke up Um, yes, well, um, I'm quite tired from my trip back. Um, well, maybe I'll go take a nap...yes.. A slight nod was all he received from his aunt while his uncle, once again, grunted.  
  
Making his way upstairs and entering his room, he remembered he DIDN'T have his trunk with him on the way UP. His exasperation was soon relieved when, making his way into his room, he discovered a certain Dudley Dursley in front of the trunk of The Boy Who Lived, surrounded by books on various school subjects, fumbling around with none other than a silky piece of material, the invisibility cape..  
  
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  
  
At this point Dudley jumped and glanced up at Harry.  
  
Um..uh, I was just, uh brining this up for you and it, uh, all fell out and, uh...I was just, uh, putting it back?  
  
Harry knew better than this..Dudley Dursley NEVER told the truth...he was also a terrible liar.  
  
Yeah, I don't believe you. WHAT happened to you? What are you doing? What is your motive? WHY are you acting like you're helping me?  
  
Dudley, shocked that his cousin actually challenged him, stood up. Look, I was only trying to help you out. I...in case you haven't noticed, I've changed a lot. I lost a lot of weight at school this year and every friend I had deserted me. THEN I started going through these weird puberty changing things.. I came home from school and everything was different. Mum and Dad aren't talking anymore, in case you haven't noticed. He began fumbling around in his pocket.. I found THIS hidden in the pantry..  
  
THIS was a stick..not a beating stick nor a broomstick..but a stick that looked like a ...WAND?  
  
Dudley continued.. It's a stick like the one you've got...a wizard's wand. I found it and mum found ME with it....and she flipped out...at first I thought it was the very idea of ME holding a WIZARD'S wand...but it was REALLY because I had found HER wand....I had found her out.. Mum's really a witch. Harry?  
  
This time Harry really did faint from the shock..  
  
It was all just a dream...yes....a dream..a dream...no wand...no witch mumbled Harry...a groggy Harry..  
  
Harry?  
  
Wha...at? Oh, no....there's Dudley holding a stick...a WAND..this wasn't just a dream...it's a living nightmare...  
  
Harry? Oh, no..I'm sorry. I should have told you ..slower...I guess... Harry?  
  
Yeah..I'm o..okay..I suppose Harry picked himself up and walked over to his bed, thinking hard. Now, tell me this again... Your mum's a witch...how?   
  
Dudley sighed... Well, she came home one day and found an owl sitting at the window. At first she freaked out and all, like she normally would....but then grabbed the letter off the owl and sent it away so as to not bring on the attention of the neighbors. She looked at the envelope, addressed to her, then someone named Severus Snape, then you.. So..she opened it. The letter and envelope were really old...browned and all. It was from your mum and dad. Mum wouldn't let me read it. She just told me about it. There was this other house where your mum and dad lived and there were instructions to go there. That's where your pictures are from. Mum had to clean the house out. She found a lot of stuff. Anyway....she read the letter and for some reason she got a wand and has been working on magic ever since. So...um, well... I just want to apologize to you because I've been mean and all and I was only mean to you because my parents were. I started thinking on my own..then my mum started telling me stuff. She doesn't hate you, Harry... She did, before she found out some stuff...a lot of secrets. Dudley looked down and said in a low voice My dad isn't really my dad.. That's why they aren't speaking. Dad's moving out by the end of the summer. Mum's not upset. She keeps smiling. She's thinking about my real dad.. She found out some things in those letters..she won't tell me everything and she wants to talk to you later about it. She told me the part I should know.. In the letter, there's something about you. A secret.  
  
What's the secret? You can probably already guess. Please leave some notes..look for something interesting in the next chapter. 


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